


left me a love worth keeping

by growlery



Category: Bandom, Disney RPF, Music RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Music & Bands, Crossdressing, Friends With Benefits, Genderbending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 18:48:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/growlery/pseuds/growlery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kevin is a lot of things: a college dropout, the guitarist for a semi-popular band, semi-estranged from his parents. But one thing he is <i>not</i> is dating Mike Carden. [fake bands AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	left me a love worth keeping

**Author's Note:**

> I failed on the magical realism front, but this is still kind of more than a little bit ridiculous. Also Max is a girl for reasons. Hope you like it, akire_yta!
> 
> Title is from A Love Worth Keeping by Frank Turner. See the endnotes for a list of the fake bands.

Kevin loves Gabe. He really _really_ does, Gabe is one of Kevin’s best friends and Kevin likes being in a band with him more than basically anything else in his life. 

He still kind of really wants to kill him right now. 

“Gabe,” Kevin says flatly, folding his arms across his chest with not a little difficulty, “this isn’t going to work.”

“But Kevin,” Gabe says, guilelessly, “the corset is an essential part of our image.”

Kevin holds up a hand before Gabe can get started on subverting gender norms and fucking with people’s expectations. He’s been hanging out with Gerard too much. 

“I get it,” Kevin says, “really, I do. You know I like wearing dresses for shows, but I also like not passing out from oxygen deprivation. Y’know?”

Before Gabe can reply, Spencer pokes his head out of the bathroom and gives Kevin a tight smile. “This isn’t going to work,” he says to Gabe, and Kevin throws his hands up and cries, “That’s what I said,” and Gabe says, “But that isn’t what _she_ said,” and looks at Laura, Lindsey and Max as if for confirmation, as if they’re the authority on the female gender. 

Laura, Lindsey and Max, who are wearing black skinny ties and signature band-red shirts and smirking. See if they’re this smug the next show they play when they’re the ones in the dresses, Kevin thinks resentfully. 

“I think you all look great,” Max says innocently. “Not that Spencer needs any help in the hip department.”

Spencer flips her off. “If I die from asphyxiation,” he says, very, very seriously, “I’m coming back to haunt you. All of you, because I fucking hate you _all_.”

“Except Kevin,” Lindsey says, “nobody hates Kevin,” and Spencer makes a noise, like, of course. 

“If you were going to die from asphyxiation,” Gabe says, grinning, “you would’ve done it already. Quit being so fucking dramatic. We have a show to play in-” He checks his phone, pulling it out from- Kevin doesn’t even want to know where; it’s not like the dresses have pockets. “-two hours, and we haven’t done sound check yet.”

“Gabe,” Laura says patiently. “We’re playing Pete’s basement, we don’t have to sound check. We don’t even have a stage.”

“You have no imagination, Marling,” Gabe declares, “we’re going to blow their fucking _minds_.”

“Well,” Laura says, “of course,” and Gabe just laughs. 

*

They get a few cat-calls when they walk onto the raised platform Pete called a stage when he showed them where to set up earlier, but this is one of _Pete’s_ parties, and most everyone here has seen The Devil’s Lovebug play at least once or twice. 

Kevin’s already used to breathing in the constraints of the corset, practised with Gabe and Spencer before they set up, but he finds himself relaxing into it as he plays, enjoying the resistance against the steady rise and fall of his chest. Gabe’s voice is breathier than usual, and he’s hanging over all of them even more than he usually does, sharing the mic with Laura even when he’s not supposed to be singing, and Kevin’s pretty sure he’s into it too. 

That pretty turns into a definitely at the end of their second song when Gabe saunters over to Kevin and drags him into a sloppy open-mouthed kiss. Kevin’s used to this, too, enough that he can kind of kiss Gabe back while his fingers find the last chords of the song, and he doesn’t get flustered. Well. Much. 

“We’re the Devil’s Lovebug,” comes Laura’s dry voice, “and that song was called Neurotic Harmony. We’re going to play Milk is the Best Enema next, if Gabe sees fit to let our guitarist go long enough to sing.”

Gabe doesn’t, just flips her off and keeps kissing Kevin. Laura snickers, says, “Apparently not,” and counts them in. 

*

They don’t have a specific set list or anything; when they run out of their own songs they move on to covering other people’s. They do a pretty great I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor, Laura doing such a terrible impersonation of Alex Turner’s accent it makes nearly everyone crack up by the end of the first verse. 

And then someone yells out, “You’d Look Better in Red,” and Gabe’s face lights up like it’s Hanukkah. 

“Fuck, yes, Truant Droid!” Gabe grins. “Best fucking dudes-”

“And lady,” Lindsey says pointedly. 

“-and lady, of course, like I’d fucking forget Janelle,” Gabe retorts. “Point is, Truant Droid are _awesome_.”

“They are,” Max agrees. “I would actually have Patrick’s babies.”

“And they would be tiny musical genius babies with epic hair,” Laura says gravely. 

“I think Ray and Ian have the monopoly on tiny musical genius babies with epic hair,” Spencer says, thoughtfully, “but yeah, Max and Patrick would have very pretty babies.”

“I’ve got him on speaker,” Pete calls out, cheerfully unrepentant, and Max bursts out laughing. 

“Stop blushing, Patrick,” Gabe hollers, “you know it’s true.”

“And please don’t kill us for fucking up your song,” Lindsey adds. 

“Heathen. It’s going to be _fantastic_ ,” Gabe declares, and Max rips into the intro. 

*

“Patrick fucking loved the song,” Pete tells them when they finally get tired of playing and abandon the stage. “Especially you, Max, he said to tell you your solo was the shit.”

Max is a little bit pink when she says, “Thank him for me, yeah?” because it is a truth universally acknowledged that Patrick Stump is _flawless_ , but when he plays with guys like Ray Toro and Ian Crawford, that’s even higher praise. 

“Also,” Pete continues, grinning, “he’s flattered about the babies thing but sadly his heart belongs to another. Or, well. Anothers,” and Max is definitely blushing this time. 

Mikey appears out of nowhere in that way that he does, nodding acknowledgement at Kevin before dragging Gabe off a little by his sleeve and crushing their mouths together. Frank – Iero, friend, not Turner, bandmate; Kevin can tell because Frank Iero is tiny and has tattoos everywhere and Frank Turner is British – hollers at them to, “Get a fucking room, motherfuckers,” but Mikey just ignores him altogether. 

“I should not have to see this,” Lindsey mutters, shielding her eyes with the kind of exaggerated horror Kevin figures is specific to seeing your practically-brother-in-law sucking face with your lead singer. 

“Hey,” Kevin says, something occurring to him suddenly, “if Mikey’s here, does that mean the rest of GMA are too?”

“Of course,” says Frank – Turner, not Iero; the accent is a dead giveaway – appearing in front of him with the rest of his band and grinning. “Like we wouldn’t all show up to see you play a venue as prestigious as Pete Wentz’s basement, come on.”

Kevin beams at them all; Gold Million Academy are basically his favourite people who aren’t his band or his brothers, not that there’s much of a line between them at this point. He pulls Victoria into a quick hug, and then looks past Greta to-

“Love the corset,” Mike says, appearing out of nowhere, and Kevin’s mouth stretches impossibly wider. Greta dutifully steps aside with an only slightly long-suffering eye-roll, and then she goes over to Max and tackles her into a hug, so Kevin figures she doesn’t really mind. 

Mike steps forward to fill the space she left, fitting his hands over Kevin’s hips in a way that makes Kevin shiver. 

“Gabe,” Kevin says, by way of explanation, and Mike huffs a laugh like, yeah, of course. “I kinda like it too, though.”

Mike’s fingers press down and in, and Kevin has to bite back a gasp. Mike is very, very good with his fingers, and unfairly fond of making Kevin blush in public, but they’ve been doing... whatever it is they’re doing for long enough now that Kevin’s starting to catch up. 

He leans in, brushes his mouth over Mike’s ear, murmurs, “I could blow you while I’m wearing it, if you want,” and Mike turns his head to kiss him, hard, instead of answering. 

Kevin thinks he hears someone protesting behind them – probably Spencer, he’s the least comfortable with PDA considering the band he’s in – but Kevin is finding it hard to care about anything beyond Mike’s mouth and Mike’s hands right now. 

“Mind if I steal him away for a while?” Mike says, after a minute or two. He’s still got a hand curled around Kevin’s hip, though, loose enough that Kevin could move away but tight enough that he can feel it, and Kevin relaxes into it.

“Please,” Spencer mutters, and Tennessee rubs his shoulder, leaning into him. 

Gabe points a finger at Mike and says, “You treat my boy right, Carden,” like he always does. 

Mike just rolls his eyes and leads Kevin upstairs. Pete will have the genitals of anyone who uses his rooms for anything other than sleeping, so Mike drags him into the bathroom, shoving him up against the door and flicking the latch across. 

“Wanted to do this all night,” Mike mumbles between kisses, his fingers finding Kevin’s and tangling together, pressing him back harder into the wood, “wanted to, fuck, wanted to hold you down and mess you up good and proper,” and Kevin groans low in his throat. 

He pushes back off the door, hard enough that Mike stumbles back a little, and takes advantage of Mike’s disorientation to steer him towards the closed toilet seat, push him down onto it. Mike likes being in control, and usually Kevin doesn’t mind letting him be, but sometimes he just wants to _take_ control from him, wants to push and feel Mike push back. 

He kneels in front of Mike on the bathroom floor, reaching for Mike’s zipper. Mike’s dick is hard and flushed when Kevin tugs it out, stroking light fingers down the shaft. 

“Tease,” Mike says, kind of choked, and Kevin laughs. He does want to drag it out, is the thing, but he’s more than a little turned on himself, between what he’s wearing and Gabe just grabbing him on stage and _Mike_. 

“Please,” Kevin says, with a wicked grin, “like you’re not going to come the minute I get my mouth on you,” and goes down, sucking hard and relentless. 

Mike lasts a little bit longer than a minute – a little, but not _that_ much – before he comes, suddenly and without warning. Kevin chokes, can’t swallow it all, and it dribbles down his chin and onto his dress. Kevin makes a face at it. 

“I’ll get it dry-cleaned for you,” Mike says, rolling his eyes. “C’mere.”

He kisses Kevin, and Kevin takes it for the apology that it is, kisses back, lets Mike reach under his dress and pull his panties down. 

*

Walt Disney and the Empires are still practising when Kevin gets back to his and Nicole’s apartment. They’re kind of nocturnal; Selena hadn’t even got there by the time Kevin left. 

“Hey,” Kevin says, waving at them on the way up to his bedroom. Demi waves back distractedly, but the other two seem to be in the middle of a pretty intense discussion so he doesn’t take it personally. 

It’s only when he’s shrugged out of the jeans and t-shirt he swapped the dress out for at Pete’s that he realises something important: the other _two_ were having a discussion. David wasn’t out there. 

Kevin pokes his head out of his room, wary, when he’s in his pyjamas. The girls have stopped arguing and are curled up on the sofa together, Selena’s head pillowed on Nicole’s chest, Demi carding her fingers absently through Nicole’s hair. 

“Hey,” Kevin says again, softer this time, and goes to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of them. “David quit, didn’t he?”

“Fucking Henrie,” Selena mutters, but it’s more tired than vicious. Kevin’s pretty sure they were dating, at one point. He reaches up to rub over her knuckles, and she gives him a weak smile. 

“He said he was sick of being teased for being in a chick band,” Demi says dully, “and then he walked out on us. For good, this time.”

“Fuck him,” Nicole says, but there’s no force behind it either. They all look exhausted, honestly. “You’ll sing for us, won’t you, Kevin?”

“Sure I will,” Kevin says. His voice isn’t the best, not enough to sing solo, but neither was David’s, to be honest. 

“You should wear a dress, too,” Selena says, perking up suddenly, “you look fucking hot in a dress,” and the other two giggle and nod. Kevin doesn’t blush, which he considers progress; before he started doing whatever it is he’s doing with Mike his face would’ve burst into flames. 

*

“You’re singing for Nicole’s band?” Joe says, delighted. “I wish I could see it.”

“I’m really glad you can’t,” Kevin tells him, hitching his shoulder up so his phone doesn’t fall away from his ear. “It’s going to be embarrassing enough as it is. How’s college, anyway?”

“Apart from the midterms from hell,” Joe says with a sigh, “pretty awesome. You’re coming to my graduation, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Kevin promises, and it’s true. He loves his brothers more fiercely than anything, always will. 

There’s a pause, and then, “It’s been ages since we’ve seen you,” Joe says, kind of quiet. Kevin bites his lip. “We all really miss you.”

“Yeah,” Kevin says. “It’s just hard, getting time off work and stuff, y’know.” It’s not a lie, not exactly, but it still tastes bitter in his mouth. “I’ll see you all really soon.”

“Yeah,” Joe echoes. “Bring your boyfriend too, yeah?”

Kevin sighs, says, “He’s not my boyfriend, Joe,” and that seems to break the sudden tension because Joe’s laugh is easy, amused. 

“Of course,” he says. “Bring him anyway, we all want to meet him.”

Kevin doubts that, somehow, but he knows Joe’s trying, knows his parents are trying even though they don’t approve. It’s all he can ask, really. 

“Yeah,” he says, “okay.”

*

“Does anybody know anyone who can sing half-decent and are looking for a band?” Kevin asks, the next time The Devil’s Lovebug are practising. (Or, well, they call it practising, but mostly it’s a whole lot of sitting around arguing about music or philosophy and getting drunk – or watching people getting drunk, mostly, in Kevin’s case. It’s kind of the highlight of his week.) “They have to not be an asshole.”

There’s a chorus of _oooooooohs_ and Gabe says, “You said a _bad word_ , Kevin Jonas,” and Kevin just folds his arms and rolls his eyes because, whatever, David _is_ an asshole. Calling him a stupid-head or whatever just would not do him justice. 

“Actually,” Max says, “my boyfriend’s band just fell apart, and he’s definitely not an asshole.”

“Which one?” Spencer asks. “Sean?”

Max nods. “But Tom could do with a permanent gig too,” she says, looking at Kevin, “if they want another guitarist?”

“I could ask,” Kevin offers. “It’s Nicole’s band, y’know, Walt Disney and the Empires? They’re playing a show tomorrow night, I said I’d sing for them.”

Max looks considering. “We’ll come watch,” she says eventually, “but I think Sean at least would be interested.”

Kevin beams at her and is about to thank her when Lindsey cuts in, says, “Hey, wait, are you singing _lead_ , Kevin?”

“Well, yeah,” Kevin mumbles, “kind of, anyway, Demi and Selena’ll be singing a lot too,” but Lindsey still looks _delighted_. 

“We are all coming to see you play,” she announces, “holy _shit_ ,” and the rest of them are nodding, especially Gabe, whose grin is nearly as wide as Lindsey’s. 

“Oh, fine,” Kevin sighs, like his acquiescence was even required in the first place. “Just, if you’re going to spend the whole time laughing at me, can you at least stay at the back?”

*

Kevin’s dress from the other night is laid out neatly on his bed when he gets back from practice. 

“Huh,” he says, frowning down at it, and Nicole pokes her head round the door. 

“Your boyfriend dropped it over earlier,” she informs him. 

“Mike isn’t my boyfriend,” Kevin says, for what feels like the millionth time; no one ever believes him. 

“You knew exactly who I meant, though,” Nicole says, sounding smug, and Kevin sighs because he kind of walked into that one. 

“I think I found you guys a singer,” he says, and as conversation-changers go it’s pretty clumsy, but Nicole’s face lights up anyway. “And another guitarist, too, if you’re interested. They’re coming to the show tomorrow.” Kevin rolls his eyes a little. “And so is the rest of my band.”

Nicole snickers, says, “I don’t have to ask if GMA’ll turn up, do I,” and Kevin groans. That hadn’t even occurred to him, somehow. “No backing out now, Jonas,” she warns, “we need you.”

Kevin nods, resigned. No backing out now. 

*

Walt Disney and the Empires are playing to approximately two hundred people. It’s kind of the biggest gig Kevin’s ever had, and he loves performing, he really does, but his heart is still lodged somewhere in his throat when he walks out onstage with Demi, Selena and Nicole. ( _Not_ in a dress; he’s wearing the same dark skinny jeans as the others and his lucky GMA shirt, the one he was wearing the first time he hooked up with Mike.)

Kevin’s entire band, plus Sean and Tom, are in the front row, and they all start cheering obnoxiously loudly. He smiles at them weakly, swallows hard a few times, and steps up to the mic, waiting for Nicole to count them in. He knows the lyrics to all the Empires’ songs, of course, could sing them in his sleep, but his mind is suddenly, terrifyingly blank. 

But then Selena’s bassline starts up and Demi’s playing the intro and ah-ah-ahing next to him and it all comes rushing back, rushing up out of his mouth. He sings to her, and she plays back to him, grinning at him, and it isn’t long before he’s grinning back. He can do this. He can _do_ this. 

He does, in fact, do it, gets through the entire song without fluffing a note or getting a line wrong, and by the end the audience are cheering. 

“So we’re Walt Disney and the Empires,” Demi says, “and that was Shake the Dust.”

“Plus the lovely Kevin from The Devil’s Lovebug,” Selena adds, her grin sharp, “filling in for our asshole of an ex lead singer.”

Kevin waves sort of awkwardly. “Hi,” he says. “Hope I’m doing okay.”

“You’re doing fantastic,” Demi assures him, “isn’t he?”

A loud cheer goes up from the audience; Kevin suspects it’s mostly Gabe, but it makes him blush anyway. 

*

Kevin’s entire band pile on him after the set’s over, each of them hugging a part of him and yelling about how great he was. Kevin can’t stop grinning, high on the thrill of a good performance, of the buzz of a crowd thoroughly enjoying themselves. 

“Guess you won’t be letting us steal him, then,” Nicole teases, when Kevin’s band finally let him go. 

Gabe curls a possessive hand around Kevin’s waist, pulling him in close. “Not a fucking chance,” he says cheerfully, and Nicole laughs. 

“So where’s this singer and bonus guitarist you found for us, Kevin?” she asks, and Max shoves Sean and Tom forward. Kevin’s met them a few times, mostly at shows; they do seem like pretty good guys. “Hey! I’m Nicole, this is Demi, and that’s Selena.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sean says, smiling at her. “I’m Sean, and this is Tom. We really liked your set, you guys can really play.”

“Thanks,” Nicole says, smiling back, and Demi, who had been frowning at Sean, suddenly beams in recognition. 

“You’re Sean Van Vleet!” she says. “You were in For the Birds, right?” When Sean nods, a little uncertain, she claps her hands in delight. “I saw you guys play once, you had amazing energy.”

Tom snickers. “Yeah,” he says, “Sean’s kind of intense on stage.”

Sean elbows him in the ribs, blushing a little, but the girls are all grinning. “We love intense,” Selena assures him, “intense is awesome. You should definitely come play with us sometime, both of you, see if it gels with our brand of intense.”

Sean and Tom are both nodding, and Kevin really, really hopes it does. He slips away while they’re setting up a time to practice together, because he caught sight of Mike by the bar earlier and he wants to go find him. 

Mike is, unsurprisingly, still at the bar. What is surprising is the girl he’s talking to, tall and blonde and very, very pretty. She’s leaning in close, much closer than is strictly friendly, and she keeps biting her lip and glancing up at Mike through her eyelashes. 

Kevin’s about to turn around and leave them to it but before he can Mike sees him, shoots a grin in his direction. Kevin grins back. Mike says something to the girl Kevin can’t hear, but it makes her lean back abruptly, glance over her shoulder at Kevin. She gives him a quick smile before gathering her stuff and getting up. 

“Hey,” Mike says when Kevin joins him, motioning for him to take the chair the girl just vacated. “You were really great up there. Gabe and Laura should let you sing more.”

Kevin makes a face. “They _really_ shouldn’t.”

Mike huffs a laugh, shaking his head, but he doesn’t push it. “You want a drink?”

“Orange juice,” Kevin says, “and _nothing else_ ,” and Mike looks outraged as he says, “That was one time! And no one told me you don’t drink, it was an honest mistake.”

Kevin shakes his head, chuckling. That was a while ago now, the first time The Devil’s Lovebug had opened for Gold Million Academy. It seems almost like a different lifetime. “I thought Lindsey was going to punch you, she was so angry.”

“She thought I was trying to take advantage of you,” Mike says, looking affronted at the very idea of it. “And _then_ I had to look after your drunk ass the rest of the night.” 

He nudges Kevin in the side, but he’s smiling too much to scowl properly and Kevin just nudges him back, smiling too. 

Mike orders him the orange juice, passing it over to Kevin with a smirk. “There you go.”

Kevin takes it, rolling his eyes a little. “You gonna find that girl, then?” Mike looks confused, so Kevin elaborates: “The girl you were talking to before I came over. She seemed pretty into you.”

Mike’s expression clears. “Oh,” he says. “Yeah, no, I- I thought we could hang out tonight. Y’know.”

Kevin grins. He’s more than okay with that, if Mike’s up for it. “Sure,” he says, and drinks his orange juice. “Oh, by the way,” he adds, rolling his eyes a little, “my brother’s graduating college in a few months and he says to bring you. Apparently my family wants to meet you. Feel free to say no, though,” he says quickly at Mike’s horrified face, “I mean, I would say no if it were me, and it’s not like you’re my boyfriend or anything.”

Mike doesn’t look at him for a minute. “I’m terrible at parents,” he says. 

“Me too,” Kevin confesses. “Or, no, I’m good at other people’s parents, other people’s parents love me. But mine-” He grimaces. “Let’s just say they’re not best pleased with me at the moment.”

Mike raises his eyebrows. “Because you went off to college a good little Christian boy and came back... not?”

Kevin huffs a laugh. “Pretty much, yeah,” he says. “I’m such a cliché, I don’t know why you like me.”

He bites his lip, because that sounded a lot needier and more obnoxious outside his head, but Mike’s gaze is steady and intent. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” he says, “I can think of a few reasons.” Kevin smiles, can’t help himself, and Mike puts a hand on Kevin’s thigh. “Like, for instance,” Mike continues, grinning, “you have an apartment which is currently empty. Right?”

Kevin glances over at Nicole, dancing with Frank – Turner, not Iero – in the middle of a crowd of their friends. She doesn’t look at all like she’s planning on leaving any time soon. 

“Yeah,” he says, and covers Mike’s hand with his. “Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

>   
> **TRUANT DROID**  
>  Janelle Monáe; vocals, piano  
> Ray Toro; vocals, guitar  
> Ian Crawford; vocals, guitar  
> Patrick Stump; vocals, drums
> 
> **THE DEVIL’S LOVEBUG**  
>  Gabe Saporta; vocals, tambourine  
> Laura Marling; vocals, piano, guitar  
> Max Steger; guitar, backing vocals  
> Kevin Jonas; guitar, backing vocals  
> Lindsey Ballato; bass  
> Spencer Smith; drums
> 
> **GOLD MILLION ACADEMY**  
>  Greta Morgan; vocals, guitar, piano  
> Frank Turner; vocals, guitar  
> Mike Carden; guitar  
> Victoria Asher; keytar, backing vocals  
> Mikey Way; bass  
> Tennessee Thomas; drums
> 
> **WALT DISNEY & THE EMPIRES**  
> Sean Van Vleet; vocals, tambourine  
> Demi Lovato; guitar, backing vocals  
> Tom Conrad; guitar, backing vocals  
> Selena Gomez; bass, backing vocals  
> Nicole Anderson; drums

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] left me a love worth keeping](https://archiveofourown.org/works/942278) by [reena_jenkins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reena_jenkins/pseuds/reena_jenkins)




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